{"id":157422,"date":"2025-08-19T03:47:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T03:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/157422\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T03:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T03:47:10","slug":"2-arrested-in-connection-with-drug-sales-in-scottsdale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/157422\/","title":{"rendered":"2 arrested in connection with drug sales in Scottsdale"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PHOENIX \u2014 Two men were arrested on Wednesday in connection with drug sales in Scottsdale, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p>Matsemala Zuzu Moloi, 31, and Luke Asher McConnell, 26, were arrested following a monthslong investigation into drug sales in downtown Scottsdale, according to the Scottsdale Police Department.<\/p>\n<p>According to court documents, McConnell faces charges of possession of a narcotic drug for sale, possession of a dangerous drug for sale, possession or use of a weapon in a drug offense and second-degree money laundering.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Moloi is facing multiple charges, including three counts of transporting a narcotic drug for sale, three counts of possession of a narcotic drug for sale, three counts of second-degree money laundering, two counts of use of electronic communication to facilitate a drug transaction,\u00a0 possession of a dangerous drug for sale, possession of a weapon by a prohibited person and possession or use of a weapon in a drug offense.<\/p>\n<p>Why were the 2 men arrested in connection with drug sales in Scottsdale?<\/p>\n<p>After an undercover detective purchased cocaine from Moloi multiple times between May and August, a traffic stop was conducted on his vehicle in the area of <a href=\"https:\/\/maps.app.goo.gl\/jkj5AdcXVJx7zWp69\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">44th Street and Thomas Road<\/a> and Moloi was arrested.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of his arrest, Moloi allegedly had a few grams of field-tested cocaine in his pockets.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, court documents said that police found multiple bags of field-tested ketamine and a drug called \u201cTusi,\u201d also known as \u201cpink cocaine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Detectives also served a search warrant at Moloi\u2019s apartment in Scottsdale.<\/p>\n<p>Police seized the following from his apartment bedroom or bedroom closet:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>$45,160<\/li>\n<li>0.35 pounds of suspected psilocybin mushroom<\/li>\n<li>30 grams of field-tested cocaine<\/li>\n<li>112 grams of field-tested ketamine<\/li>\n<li>117 grams of of suspected amphetamine pills<\/li>\n<li>6 grams of suspected MDMA<\/li>\n<li>one pistol.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Police also reportedly found hundreds of clear plastic baggies, digital scales and a money counter.<\/p>\n<p>While serving the search warrant, police also arrested McConnell.<\/p>\n<p>In McConnell\u2019s room, detectives allegedly found a tackle box on his dresser which contained 96 grams of field-tested ketamine, 53 grams of suspected methamphetamine pills, 44.5 grams of field-tested cocaine, 20 grams of MDMA and two suspected DMT vape cartridges.<\/p>\n<p>According to court documents, there was also hundred of of clear plastic baggies and $2,320 next to the tackle box.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, police identified two handguns in a hallway closet.<\/p>\n<p>While being interviewed, McConnell reportedly denied that the tackle box was his or any knowledge of what was inside of it.<\/p>\n<p>However, during a consented search of his phone, detectives allegedly found text messages where McConnell would arrange meetings for vague items and then receive Apple Cash payments of hundreds of dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Moloi refused to speak with police.<\/p>\n<p>Moloi is being held on a $250,000 bond and McConnell is being held on a $100,000 bond.<\/p>\n<p>This is an updated version of a story originally published on August 16, 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We want to hear from you.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 0px;\">Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team <a href=\"https:\/\/ktar.com\/arizona-news\/2-arrested-for-drug-sales-scottsdale\/5739603\/mailto:stories@ktar.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ktar.com\/newsletters\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/KTAREmail-830x100-1.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0 auto;\" class=\"mobile-signup\"\/>\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/KTAREmail-830x100-1.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0 auto;\" class=\"desktop-signup\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 Two men were arrested on Wednesday in connection with drug sales in Scottsdale, authorities said. Matsemala&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":157423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[7155,5229,5643,1587,316,1589,7154,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-157422","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-92-3-ktar","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-arizona","11":"tag-az","12":"tag-home","13":"tag-phoenix","14":"tag-phoenix-and-arizona-breaking-news-and-news-headlines-home","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115053385926750688","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}